In the midst of the trials and tribulations this life has to offer us, sometimes it is difficult to remember that we are never alone. Always we have a loving Father in Heaven who guides, directs, comforts, and inspires us along our path in life. He is waiting for us to turn to Him in prayer so that He can pour out his blessings upon us.
President Ezra Taft Benson once said, “All through my life the counsel to depend on prayer has been prize above almost any other advice I have…received. It has become an integral part of me – an anchor, a constant source of strength, and the basis of my knowledge of things divine….
“…Though reverses come, in prayer we can find reassurance, for God will speak peace to the soul. That peace, that spirit of serenity, is life’s greatest blessing.”
The Apostle Paul also admonished us to “Let your request be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Answers to our prayers comes in many different ways. A feeling of comfort, a kind act from a neighbor, a friend, or even a stranger. Sometimes we are inspired to to change something in our lives that later will yield the blessing we have been yearning for. Our answers sometimes take longer than we’d like as we’ve been told that our time is not the Lord’s time.
I’d like to share an example from my life when I had an answer to a prayer and knew, without a doubt, that I don’t walk this path alone.
About a year ago, Sam and I were trying to make a decision about the direction our life should head. We had a spent a portion of the previous summer traveling in California and loved the effect it had on our family. Returning home to Lehi, Utah was very difficult for me. Having grown up not far from our home, and spent most of my life in Utah, I yearned for something different. We had never wanted to settle in Utah, but felt impressed to take the job offer when it came that would keep us there. As we prayed and pondered I felt no direction coming from the Lord. The answer was always to just “wait”.
The end of December and the beginning of January that year was the coldest in my memory. The high temperatures ranged from 10 degrees to about 18 for at least 3 weeks. I was miserable, cold, unhappy, and slightly depressed. I didn’t want to be there and the cold weather gave me something to fixate my unhappiness on.
As the first Sunday of January approached and I prepared to fast, I desperately needed relief, peace, and some assurance that we wouldn’t be left in this place for the rest of our lives. I wanted to know that we were doing the right thing for Sam’s work, that I should continue my photography business, that we could find peace and joy in our current situation and that He would lead us in His own time.
Sam was sick that Sunday, so the kids and I went to church on our own. Even though our kids are well-behaved, handling them on my own during the hour of Sacrament Meeting is never a restful thing. As we pulled out our hymn books for the opening song and began singing, however, the Spirit hit me like a ton of bricks. This song was the answer to my prayers. Tears started streaming down my face and I almost couldn’t breathe.
The words to “I Know That My Redeemer Lives” spoke peace, comfort, and understanding to the very depths of my heart.
“He lives to grant me rich supply.
He lives to guide me with his eye.
He lives to comfort me when faint.
He lives to hear my soul’s complaint.
He lives to silence all my fears.
He lives to wipe away my tears.
He lives to calm my troubled heart.
He lives all blessings to impart.”
I wanted to the Lord to hear my soul’s complaint, wipe away my tears, and calm my troubled heart. It was comforting to know that He did and would again comfort me in times of trial, and that is what He lives for. “Oh, sweet the joy this sentence gives: “I know that my Redeemer lives!”
Sometimes our answers to prayers don’t come because of our unwillingness to humble ourselves and submit our will to God. Often, we cover ourselves with a pavilion that hides us from the Lord. Maybe our pavilion is one of professional ambition, perhaps we insist on our timetable when the Lord has His own, or sometimes we are even paralyzed by fear. In the 24th and 25th verses of D&C 121 the Lord says, “For there is a time appointed for every man, according as his works shall be.”
It is only when we remove the pavilion and feel in our hearts “Thy will be done” and “in Thine own time” that the Lord can begin to work with us. Elder Eyring recently stated, “Although His time is not always our time, we can be sure that the Lord keeps His promises. For any of you who now feel that He is hard to reach, I testify that the day will come that we all will see Him face to face. Just as there is nothing now to obscure His view of us, there will be nothing to obscure our view of Him. We will all stand before Him, in person… [and] our certain reunion with Him at the judgment bar will be more pleasing if we first do the things that make Him as familiar to us as we are to Him. As we serve Him, we become like Him, and we feel closer to Him as we approach that day when nothing will hide our view.”
I testify that the Lord loves us. I know He hears and answers our prayers. It can be difficult to wait upon the Lord, but always the experience and the blessings are more beautiful because of our humility.
I sit, right now, far from our home in Utah. I am in a state park in New Mexico watching the sky turn from black, to gray, to brilliant orange as the sun comes up over the horizon. I never would have imagined this life for us on our own. The Lord truly is great and His ways are always better than ours.
**For reference, please read President Henry B. Eyring’s talk “Where is the Pavilion?” and President Thomas S. Monson’s “We Never Walk Alone”.
Several months ago, in the middle of research and planning the basic logistics of this adventure, The Lord reminded us to have courage.
We started 2013 not at home, but in Denver, Colorado. A wedding shoot for Jess on the 28th of December turned into a weeklong trip through the snowy mountains of Western Colorado to Denver for the New Year. Jess took pictures, Sam worked remotely, and we explored Denver.